AP top 25: A week of wackiness

Every year there is at least one week where everything goes haywire. One week where down is up, up is down, and the best teams in the country all seem to topple over at the same time. College basketball has just suffered that very week. The No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, No. 5, No. 7, No. 10, No. 11, No. 12, No. 14, No. 15, No. 16, No. 17, No. 22, No. 23, and No. 24 all suffered defeats this past week, that’s 15 of the top 25 teams in the country. A week like this is bound to lead to many moves in the polls and the Associated Press did not disappoint.

10 teams moved up four or more spots in the polls, while seven teams moved down four or more spots. That’s an incredible readjustment for just one week. Blue bloods were not treated very kindly as Duke, North Carolina, and Kentucky were all defeated on the same day for only the second time ever, while Kansas suffered a home loss to Texas Tech for the first time ever.

What about those feisty Red Raiders? Tech made the biggest noise, moving up 10 spots to grab the No. 8 spot in the rankings. This mark is tied for the second highest rank ever in program history, and highest rank in over 20 years. With big games coming up against No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 2 West Virginia, Tech could easily find themselves moving up even further or being brought back down to earth.

1. Villanova, 14-1 (+2)
2. West Virginia, 14-1 (+4)
3. Virginia, 14-1 (+5)
4. Michigan State, 15-2 (-3)
5. Purdue, 15-2 (+8)
6. Wichita State*, 13-2 (+4)
7. Duke, 13-2 (-5)
8. Texas Tech, 14-1 (+10)
9. Oklahoma, 12-2 (-2)
10. Xavier, 15-2 (-5)
11. Arizona State, 13-2 (-7)
12. Kansas, 12-3 (-2)
13. Seton Hall, 14-2 (+8)
14. Cincinnati, 14-2 (+5)
15. Gonzaga, 14-3 (+4)
16. TCU, 13-2 (-)
17. Arizona, 12-4 (-3)
18. Miami, 13-2 (-3)
19. Clemson, 14-1 (+6)
20. North Carolina, 12-4 (-8)
21. Kentucky, 12-3 (-4)
22. Auburn, 14-1 (NR)
23. Florida State, 12-3 (+1)
24. Tennessee, 9-3 (-4)
25. Creighton, 13-3 (NR)

*Wichita State is actually tied for 5th in points.